The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 7 letter word HANGDOG
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
H
A
N
G
D
O
G
More clues leading to the result HANGDOG
- Suspend pet, with a guilty look
- Suspend setter, perhaps, being downcast?
- Wretched call to punish murderous cur?
- Sheepish face of goalie, intercepting pass with defensive blunder
- Downcast, had gong replaced
- Abashed, wait to make good
- Put 19 to death, perhaps, for appearing guilty
- Ashamed to kill one’s best friend
- Might beastly suspenders invoke such an expression?
- Suspend setter perhaps guilty in manner
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "Wretched" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case wretched = hangdog.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does HANGDOG mean?
HANGDOG noun- A base, degraded person; a sneak; a gallows bird.
- Low; sneaking; ashamed.